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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the establishment of an interim registry for certain |
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persons who have been accused of employee misconduct and are |
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employed by a facility that provides care to individuals with an |
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intellectual disability. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Section 253.003, Health and Safety Code, is |
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amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
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(d) If the employee notified of the violation makes a timely |
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request for a hearing on the determination, the commission shall |
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record the reportable conduct in the interim registry under Section |
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253.0035 in a manner that is consistent with that section. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 253, Health and Safety Code, is amended |
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by adding Section 253.0035 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 253.0035. INTERIM REGISTRY. (a) In this section and |
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Section 253.003, "commission" means the Health and Human Services |
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Commission. |
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(b) The commission shall establish an interim registry of |
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employees against whom a determination or finding of reportable |
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conduct is made and who have made a timely request for a hearing on |
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the determination or finding under Section 253.003 of this code or |
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Section 48.404, Human Resources Code. The information included in |
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the interim registry must include: |
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(1) the employee's name; |
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(2) the employee's address; |
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(3) the employee's social security number; |
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(4) the name of the facility or individual employer of |
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the employee; |
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(5) the address of the facility or individual employer |
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of the employee; |
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(6) the date on which the reportable conduct occurred; |
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and |
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(7) a description of the reportable conduct. |
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(c) The executive commissioner shall allow providers |
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participating in the home and community-based services (HCS) waiver |
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program or the Texas home living (TxHmL) waiver program direct |
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access to the interim registry. The executive commissioner by rule |
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shall require a provider to take necessary actions regarding an |
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employee who is included in the interim registry. The actions taken |
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by a provider under this subsection: |
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(1) must be based on the seriousness of the reportable |
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conduct for which the employee is included in the interim registry; |
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and |
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(2) may include: |
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(A) additional monitoring; |
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(B) reassignment; or |
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(C) suspension. |
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(d) The commission immediately shall remove an employee |
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from the interim registry after a final decision on the reportable |
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conduct is made and all rights to appeal the decision have been |
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exhausted. |
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(e) Information contained in the interim registry is |
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confidential and not subject to disclosure under Chapter 552, |
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Government Code. Confidential information contained in the interim |
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registry may be disclosed to appropriate persons only in accordance |
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with commission rules. |
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(f) A provider is not civilly liable for failing to hire an |
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employee who was, at the time the provider made the hiring decision, |
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included in the interim registry. |
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SECTION 3. Section 48.404, Human Resources Code, is amended |
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by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
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(d) If the employee notified of the violation makes a timely |
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request for a hearing on the finding, the commission shall record |
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the reportable conduct in the interim registry under Section |
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253.0035, Health and Safety Code, in a manner that is consistent |
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with that section. |
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SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date |
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of this Act, the executive commissioner of the Health and Human |
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Services Commission shall adopt rules as necessary to implement the |
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changes in law made by this Act. |
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SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021. |